Ureteral stents are used to create a pathway for urinary drainage from the kidney to the bladder in patients with ureteral obstruction or injury or to protect the integrity of the ureter in a variety of surgical manipulations, among other uses. A number of clinical conditions can produce interruption in urine flow including, for example, intrinsic obstruction of the ureter due to tumor growth, stricture or stones, compression of the ureter due to extrinsic tumor growth, stone fragment impaction in the ureter following extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), and ureteral procedures such as ureteroscopy and endopyelotomy. Stents may thus be used to treat or prevent obstructions of the ureter that disrupt the flow of urine from the corresponding kidney to the urinary bladder, which obstructions can cause urine to back up into the kidney, threatening renal function.